Chapter 36: Truth and Lies

We all trooped across to number five for lunch. I knocked on the door at almost exactly one o’clock. Alan answered immediately.

“Hi guys,” he said, smiling. “Come on in.”

We took our shoes off, leaving them on the porch, before entering. I handed Alan the wine I had bought and he took it into the kitchen. “Lunch will be about thirty minutes,” he said, emerging a moment later. “Caleb, Anne asked if you wouldn’t mind giving her a hand?”

I went into the kitchen. Anne smiled at me as I walked in. She had a muffin tray and was about to pour the batter into it to make Yorkshire pudding.

“You need to heat the oil first,” I said. “Otherwise, they won’t rise properly. It needs to be smoking hot.”

She put the muffin tray into the oven and put the batter back onto the side. Alan had returned to the living room. Anne looked at me. “When did you find it?” she asked. I realised that she had figured out we had found the glory hole.

“Find what?” I queried.

She snorted at me. “You almost got away with it, but one of the twins turned you slightly so we could see better. I didn’t figure it out it at the time, but I was thinking about it later and realized the significance of her doing that.”

“Does your brother know?” I asked. I figured if she was going to call us out, then I would return the favor.

She went white. “How?”

“You’re not the only one that thinks stuff over later,” I said. “It was just a suspicion until now, but your reaction confirmed it. Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone. Like I said to Alan: we alternative lifestyle people need to stick together.”

“He told me about that,” she said with a half-smile. “You were testing him, teasing him, weren’t you?”

“You should have seen his face,” I said, with a wicked grin. “He nearly crushed your cable box.”

“You are a bad man,” she scolded. The relief blazed in her aura. She had, for so long, wanted to be able to relax around someone.

Alan returned to the kitchen to get drinks for everyone.

“Alan,” said Anne. He stopped what he was doing and looked at her. “They know.”

“Know what?” he asked, looking worried.

“Everything,” she said. “About the hole, about us...”

He looked at me with real fear in his eyes.

“It’s okay,” I reassured him. “We know, and we don’t care. What you guys do - who you are - is not our business. I’m flattered to find out that watching us feeds your fantasies. We’re not going to tell anyone. Your secrets are completely safe with us.”

Alan sat down at the kitchen table.

“I...” he said. “I don’t know what to say. How long have you known?”

“Since lunch last week,” I said. “You said that you’d seen me training, I couldn’t figure out how. At first, I thought you might be tapping into our CCTV, but then I realized it was something a little lower-tech. I checked the fence for knotholes and found a rather large one. Your comments about how long you’ve been together also made me think. But most of all, you have the same eyes. Your being siblings was a guess, but every time I poked you, your reaction was pretty extreme. If it makes you feel any better, Anne’s poker face isn’t great either. Runs in the family?”

“So, what happens now?” asked Anne.

“Something very important,” I said. She looked a little unnerved. “You pull out the muffin tray with the smoking oil, and quickly pour the batter into each cup and then pop them back in the oven. Then, in about twenty minutes, you should have perfect Yorkshire puddings.”

The Yorkshire puddings turned out really well, and the rest of the meal was just as tasty. After the initial shock of my revelation, Alan and Anne relaxed, and we enjoyed a nice lunch.

I sensed from them that they didn’t really want to discuss the glory hole, and, while they would be content to deal with anything that came through it, they didn’t want to engage any more directly. Peeping and ‘anonymous’ sex were their fantasies. Swapping and orgies, not so much - at least not yet. I kept the girls in the loop, so they’d know not to press the issue. For once, I felt that Amanda was on my side. Keeping a fantasy alive was something she respected, apparently. I had a feeling she’d still push them a little on joining us if the opportunity presented itself.

Alan opened the wine with lunch. Not being a huge fan of wine, I declined, and then accepted the beer offered in its stead. Josh took the same offer, but everyone else had a glass – and that was only the beginning. Between the six of them, they managed to make their way through the two bottles that I’d brought, and another one that Alan had had in the house. By the time lunch was over, all the girls were a little tipsy.

We stayed and helped to clear up after lunch, despite the protests from the hosts, and then for a short while longer while the girls settled down; it ended up we had been there all afternoon. We called it an early night, though; I wanted to finish up some stuff for school and get ready for the week ahead.

That night, Louise was making not-so-subtle advances yet again, but I wasn’t really in the mood. I deflected her back to Josh and went to bed.

Amanda followed me into the bedroom. “What’s going on between you and Louise?” she asked as soon as the bedroom door closed.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You know what I mean,” she said. “Twice now she has come on to you, and each time you have rejected her. Why?”

“Do you think that after what they have just been through,” I asked, “that Josh needs to see his girlfriend having sex with another man?”

“You’re not ‘another man,’” she said. “You’re you.”

“I’m not having any kind of sex with Louise,” I said firmly, “until I’m sure that Josh is over what happened with Keenan.”

“But that’s Josh’s problem,” said Amanda. “Why should Louise be punished?”

“I’m not punishing her,” I returned. “I’m trying to prevent them splitting up. And if her libido is more important to her than Josh’s feelings right now, then maybe he should have asked to see her memories of Saturday.”

“You think she...?” Amanda asked, wide-eyed.

“I know she lied,” I said. I sent the memory I’d taken from Louise. When she’d been separated from Josh at the party, Keenan had cornered her and practically raped her. Given Louise’s proclivities, however, she had found it incredibly exciting. After Josh had left, and she had been stopped from going after him, she’d ended up with Keenan in her bed again - that time semi-willingly. Despite what she had said to Josh, Keenan had made her cum several times on both occasions. Louise disliked Keenan - even hated him - but had loved his cock.

I felt Amanda sharing that with Mary and Jules. I was glad that she didn’t send it to Ness. I knew it wasn’t fair, but I still didn’t want her involved in household drama unless and until she had to be. Mary and Jules came into the bedroom shortly after.

“You looked?” asked Mary.

I nodded. “I knew that we were going to get drawn into their drama, and I wanted to know the truth.”

“Fuck it?” asked Jules, half-smiling at me.

“Fuck it!” I agreed.

Mary and Amanda looked from Jules to me, and I saw Jules share the memory of our discussion with them. Mary sighed. “What are you going to do?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I like Louise; I really do. I think her and Josh are great together. She loves him with all her heart; that is something else I saw. But Louise is not a one-man woman. I don’t think it’s possible for her to get everything she needs in a single package – well, from a Norm, anyway. She wants all the normal, healthy things that a guy like Josh brings to the relationship, but she also has that dark side, and I don’t think role playing with the man she loves and wants to marry is ever going to satisfy it. Without my powers, I wouldn’t be able to either. It’d be too consensual.”

“Is that due to our influence?” asked Amanda. “Like Jules said?”

“I don’t think it helped,” I said, “but she seems to have always had a very high sex drive. She lost her virginity three days after her eighteenth birthday. It was at a gangbang with six of her school’s football players, which she helped organize.”

“Poor Josh,” said Amanda. “He’ll be devastated if he finds out.”

“Maybe not,” I said. “He’ll be pissed that she lied, but I don’t think her having sex with Keenan is the big deal it was made out to be. It wasn’t the sex; it was the disrespect and trying to steal Louise away that bothered him. I guess it’s possible that Josh is seriously turned off by preppies or trust-fund kids, but I wonder if the three of them might’ve gotten together if they’d met up under more normal circumstances – you know, back home, old stomping grounds, ex is there; why not?”

“Hell, just a threesome might’ve been too boring for Louise to go for,” Jules said sardonically.

I cocked my head, conceding the point. “I think this needs to come out,” I said. “I also think we’re in the best position to manage the situation, so that nobody says or does anything they can’t take back.”

“Easier said than done,” said Mary. “Do you have a plan?”

“I don’t,” I admitted. “Sooner is better, though.”

“Well, I don’t have any brilliant ideas right now,” said Amanda, “but I definitely vote for meddling.”

Jules raised an eyebrow. “Interesting choice of words.”

“What?” Amanda asked. “Meddling is fun. We’re like the Scooby gang for sex.”

“Just don’t call me Velma,” said Jules. “Bad memories.”

I cleared my throat a bit theatrically. The connection let me forget sometimes that having three – soon to be four – girlfriends all living under the same roof meant a lot of extra chatter about anything and everything. The looks I got from all three of them were priceless, but they quietly gave me back the floor.

“It needs to be driven by Louise,” I said. “If any of you have any bright ideas about how to get her on board, have at it.”

“I do, actually,” said Jules, “but I’m not a hundred percent sure that Louise will go for it.” She went on to explain her idea in detail.

“That might work,” I said.

“Would you be willing to do it?” she asked me.

“If she asked me to, then yes,” I replied.

“When?” asked Mary.

“On that, Caleb’s right,” said Jules. “Josh is already starting to get suspicious that Caleb won’t have anything to do with Louise.”

“Let me go talk to Louise,” said Amanda. “If she’s up for it, then I’ll bring them both in here.”

“Now?” I asked, a little dismayed.

“Hey, you said,” she replied cheekily.

I sighed. It was – or had been – one of my few easy nights during the week. “Fine,” I grumped.

Amanda left the room and I got into bed, sitting up against the headboard. About fifteen minutes later, Amanda returned, followed by Josh and Louise. Louise looked nervous; Josh looked a little confused, but he also looked scared. I think he had an inkling that he might be in for some bad news, but I doubted that he had any idea what Jules had in mind for him.

I looked at Louise, sending a message directly to her mind. She nodded and agreed the same way.

I immediately took control of her, imagining that she would sit in the chair, facing the bed. I backed it up with a verbal order, to let Josh know that I had taken control.

“Louise,” I said. “We are going to ask you some questions. You will answer completely, and truthfully, no matter what. Do you understand?” Josh knew it was a performance for his benefit. It threw him off a little. He didn’t understand why I was playing the role of a stage hypnotist.

“Yes,” she replied.

“Caleb?” Josh asked nervously. “What are you doing?”

“Since Saturday,” I said, “you have been tying yourself up in knots about what happened at Louise’s parents’ house. There are things that you want to know, and there are things that you need to know. You are about to get those answers.”

“But I said...” he began.

“You said it,” I countered, “but I know the truth. Since I’m in charge, me and the girls will ask our questions and get our answers first. Then it’ll be your turn. Think about what really matters to you.

“Now, I am not going to Compel you to participate in this exercise, but I think you should. You’re already suspicious; it’s already eating away at you. Let’s get it all out in the open and deal with it. I told you months ago that I liked you, and I liked Louise, but I loved ‘Josh and Louise.’ That’s why we’re doing this. We’re doing it for ‘Josh and Louise.’”

Josh’s eyes were already wet. “She slept with him, didn’t she?” He was starting to get angry and upset. I felt Amanda’s power flare, but I quashed it. Amanda looked at me, puzzled.

“It’s fine for you to be angry,” I said to Josh, “but before you act on it, please, let’s find out the truth - not just that truth, but the whole truth.”

Josh took a shuddering breath and nodded. I patted the bed, and he came and sat beside me. Mary took his other side and held his hand.

“Ready?” I asked Josh, and he nodded again.

“Louise,” I said, “I have changed my mind about you. I want you to leave Josh and join me and my girls. Will you do that?”

Josh looked at me. I saw shock, horror, and a sense of betrayal on his face. I wasn’t surprised.

“No!” Louise shouted.

Josh’s attention snapped back to his girlfriend.

“Why not?” I asked.

“I like you, Caleb,” she said, “maybe even love you, and the girls. You are a really nice guy, and amazing in bed, but I love Josh more than I can even find words for. There is nobody in the world I would rather be with than him - not even you. I’m sorry.”

“If that’s the case, then why did you sleep with Keenan?” asked Mary.

Josh’s head spun to look at Mary, and just as quickly looked back at Louise.

“I don’t know,” said Louise. “The first time, he kind of forced himself on me.”

“What happened?” asked Mary.

“I got sent up to one of the bedrooms by my mother, “Louise began, “supposedly to get something. When I got there, he was waiting for me.

“As soon as I opened the door to the bedroom, he grabbed me, kicking the door closed behind us. He had one hand over my mouth, the other arm around my throat, and he dragged me across the room and threw me onto the bed. By the time I realized what was going on he had pulled off my top and was on top of me, kissing me. I felt so helpless; he is much bigger, stronger and heavier than I am, and I was not able to get him off of me.

“He kept on forcing his tongue into my mouth as he undid my jeans, and then he got his hand down the front of them, and into my panties. My pussy was already soaking. You all know my fantasies about being forced, and so did he. He played on it.

“He shoved two fingers inside of me and began to fuck me with them. My head was completely wrecked. I’d already had a lot to drink; he and my parents had been feeding me alcohol all night, and now he had me pinned to the bed and was forcefully masturbating me. It took me less than a minute to orgasm.

“By the time I had come back to my senses, he had completely removed my jeans and panties. He was on top of me, my hands pinned above my head as he slid into me. He pushed in slowly, grinning like a maniac at me all the time, telling me that I belonged to him and that he was going to fuck me over and over again, filling me up with his cum. He started talking about Josh, telling me that if I was a good girl he would let Josh watch, and maybe let him suck out the creampie he was about to blow in me.”

I looked at Josh. He had tears on his cheeks, but I could see that his face was flushed, and already his trousers were tented. Jules had been spot-on with her assessment.

Louise went on. “He fucked me, hard. There was no finesse; he made no attempt to make it good for me; he just rammed his nine inches into me over and over again, claiming me, marking me as his. Despite his lack of attention to me, I came again. Being used like that just pushed my buttons. I came twice more before he finally stiffened and shot a huge load of cum inside of me.

“I lay there, stunned. Then I realized what had happened. Technically I had been raped, but I’d loved every second of it. It was almost as intense as the fantasy that you, Caleb, made for us, although the one thing missing was my Josh. I remember thinking that the only thing that would have made that scene better would have been for Josh to have been there.

“After he rolled off me, I turned on my side to face him. I knew what would happen if I did, and it did. He, too, turned on his side to face me. He started to say something about how good I had found it, but he didn’t get to finish; I kneed him as hard as I could in the balls.

“He actually rolled off the bed onto the floor, curled up in a ball, and I used the time to get my clothes and get out of the room. He caught up to me just before Josh found us. When Josh came up, Keenan was whispering in my ear that he was going to tell Josh that I had dragged him upstairs for sex - that Josh wouldn’t believe that I hadn’t wanted to fuck him, especially as my parents would back his story.

“Then Josh got his stuff and left. I begged him not to go, literally on my knees on the floor, but he wouldn’t stop. Keenan and my parents prevented me from following him. I went up to my bedroom and locked myself in, intending to stay as far away from all of them as I could.”

I looked at Josh again. His aura was awash with rage, but I could tell it wasn’t directed at Louise. He wanted to go and hurt Keenan, hurt him badly. I also saw love and a massive amount of arousal.

“You said that was the first time,” Mary said. “What else happened?”

“Later that night, Keenan somehow managed to open the door.” Louise picked up her tale. “I was asleep. I’d had so much to drink, and the first time I knew he was in my bed was when I felt him enter me. I knew immediately who it was, but he felt so good inside me that I let him have me once more. This time he took his time. He had originally entered me from behind and he fucked me like that for some time, making me cum a couple of times, before he turned me over and climbed on top. I don’t know if it was because he had cum earlier, or because of the knee to the balls, but he seemed to go on forever. I came again and again, feeling him thrusting in and out of me, until finally he came. He pushed himself deep inside me and then groaned as he spurted his cum into me. Then he rolled off me and fell asleep.

“The next morning, I got up before anyone else was awake. I tried to call Josh, but his phone was off. I snuck out of the house and drove to the bus stop to see if Josh was there, and then came home.”

“You said that Keenan was no good in bed,” said Jules. “Was that a lie?”

“Not at all,” said Louise. “I did lie when I said he never made me cum, but, as you all know, I cum very easily. The first time, Keenan made me come three, maybe four times. Josh would have had me at least a dozen times in the same session. Despite the fact that Keenan is bigger than Josh, even when we’re role playing, Josh takes care to make it good for me. The reality of being taken was more responsible for making me cum than Keenan. He was a boring lover. All the time we were together, it was the same. Never once did he try something different or even bother to ask what I wanted. It was always all about him. We fucked a lot, and yes, I did cum, but never, in all the time we were together, did we ever make love. Josh is a hundred times the lover and a thousand times the man than Keenan could ever hope to be.”

Josh looked at Amanda, waiting for her to ask her question.

“Why did you lie?” asked Amanda. I was surprised by her accusatory tone until I looked at Josh. He was bristling at the question, wanting to defend his love. Amanda was sometimes cleverer than people gave her credit for.

“I was terrified that if Josh found out,” said Louise, “he would leave me. I was so happy when he first told me that he loved me. I’d known from the moment I’d laid eyes on him that he was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I was so scared that I had destroyed that. Josh and I have an unusual sex life - what with you guys, and we talk all the time about including others. The thought of him sticking his cock through the fence for Anne or Alan to suck him off makes me so horny.

“I didn’t instigate sex with Keenan – either time – but I didn’t stop him either. I might not have been able to stop him the first time, but I know I could have probably stopped him the second. I didn’t, and I don’t really know why. I do know that I never ever want to see him again, and that all I really want is for the man that I love, Josh, to hold me in his arms and tell me that he loves me, and that everything is going to be alright again.”

I looked at Josh. His erection had subsided, and his tears had dried. He was staring at Louise, his mind in so much turmoil that I couldn’t get a clear read of what he was going to say or do next.

“Josh?” I said quietly. He looked at me. “Do you have a question for Louise?” I asked him.

Josh pulled his hand carefully from Mary’s, who had held it all through the questioning. Then he slid down the bed, climbing to his feet at the foot, before walking the two yards to where Louise was sat. As he approached, she looked up at him, her eyes still wet with tears.

“Louise,” he said. “Will you marry me?”

The quartet of gasps from the girls and I was still not enough to drown out the sobbed “YES!!” that burst from Louise as she launched herself out of her chair and wrapped her arms around her lover. She clung to him, sobbing into his shoulder, and I quietly released her from the Compulsion. I felt both Mary and Amanda flowing love over the pair, and that time I did not quash it, letting them bask in the emotions as they held one another.

Finally, they separated, and then both looked at me.

“It was Jules’ idea,” I said quickly before either of them could get a word out. Josh released Louise and walked over to Jules, pulling her to her feet and into a hug, which Louise joined mere seconds later. They clung to the smaller girl for several minutes. Jules just relaxed into the hug and held onto the pair for as long as they needed.

“Thank you,” they said together, finally releasing her. “Thank you all.” Their gazes swept the room, finding each of us in turn.

Not long after that, Josh and Louise retired to their room to go and ‘discuss’ their engagement. Jules and the girls all joined me in bed and were settling down to sleep. As usual, Mary was on one side, Jules the other, with Amanda curled up behind Jules.

“You are a genius,” I said to Jules.

“That’s not quite the way I expected it to go,” she said.

“Me neither,” said Amanda. “I thought he would get so horny from her description of her ‘rape’ that he would jump her then and there.”

“I think he almost did,” I said. “Your question was masterful, too, Amanda. Did you see how he went into protection mode against you?”

She grinned. “I did. All in all, I think it worked out very well. Did you see his face when you offered her to join us?”

“That was mean,” said Mary. “What would you have done if she had said yes?”

“She was never going to,” I said. “I was one hundred percent sure of that. Otherwise, I would never have asked.”

“You’re all feeling particularly pleased with yourselves,” sent Ness. “What gives?”

I sent her the memories of everything that had gone on. There was a short pause as she assimilated it all.

I laughed out loud.

“I’ll bet she was mortified,” sent Jules.

“At first,” Ness sent, “but she had to get over it quick before Fi returned. We just pretended nothing happened. She went to bed as soon as Fi came back. Then I came home.”

“Well, at least it’s good to know she’s still off the cigarettes,” I sent.

I felt Ness’s amusement. “I’m going to sleep now,” she sent. “I love you guys. Night!”

We all sent our love, and likewise, aided by Amanda’s power, drifted off to sleep.

My Monday night Healing training was going to be different that week. When I pulled into the parking lot of the hospital I had been asked to meet him at, I spotted Jeevan standing beside his car, and pulled into the space next to him. He handed me a janitor’s uniform.

“There is a bathroom just through the main entrance on the left,” he told me. “Go change.”

I followed his directions and then went back into the parking lot to throw my clothes into my truck. Then he led me in through another door and up a set of stairs.

“People here recognise me as a janitor,” he said. “They will think the same of you.”

We continued to climb the stairs.

“Are janitors not allowed to use elevators in this hospital?” I grumbled, and he laughed.

“Come, bhaiya,” he exclaimed, “surely a young fit man like yourself can handle a few flights of stairs?”

I looked at him. He was far too happy. “You shared again today, didn’t you?” I asked.

He grinned.

“And Meena?”

“Meena is finding the journey an interesting one,” he said.

“I’m happy for you, my brother,” I said, “and for my older sister too.”

He placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Thank you bhaiya,” he said. “Without you, we would still be struggling with this.” He turned and continued up the stairs. We climbed to the fifteenth floor.

“This is the children’s ward,” he said as we came out of the stairwell and onto the corridor. “There is a young lady here I would like you to meet.”

We walked onto the ward as if we were meant to be there. Everyone just ignored us. A couple of nurses who had been standing in the middle of the corridor stepped aside to let us pass. We walked into a room where a young girl, aged about six, was sitting on a bed, playing on a handheld video game. She looked up as we entered.

“Mister Jay,” she said happily as she saw Jeevan.

“Hey pretty girl,” Jeevan said, waving to her. “We’re here to fix the bathroom. This is my friend, Mister Kay.”

She looked up at me and smiled shyly. “Hello,” she said. “I’m Christina.”

“Hi Christina,” I said. “What are you playing?”

“Minecraft,” she said, “but my battery is low. Will you plug it in for me? The nurses are too busy, and I can’t reach.”

“Surely,” I said, and plugged the charger into the device. It was just about long enough for her to continue to play.

“Christina has a tumor in her brain,” sent Jeevan. “They are not able to remove it because it is too deeply embedded and wrapped around her brainstem. She would die immediately. They are about to start another round of chemotherapy, which, with your help, is going to be a complete cure.”

“What?” I sent. “I don’t know how to cure a brain tumor.”

“I’ll guide you,” he reassured me. “I don’t have the power, and she doesn’t have the time. Without our intervention, Christina will not see the end of the month.”

“Where’s your mommy?” asked Jeevan.

“She just went to get coffee,” said Christina. “She’ll be back in a minute.”

“Okay,” said Jeevan. “Mr. Kay and I are going to fix the toilet in your bathroom.”

“Okay,” said Christina going back to her game. We moved into the ensuite bathroom and closed the door.

“Now,” he said softly. “Feel for her.”

I reached out and found her mind with mine. She was such a bright presence - a cheerful and loving soul who had been tormented for months. Her memories and pain brought tears to my eyes. She didn’t want this next round of chemo; it made her feel sick and horrible. She had heard the doctors telling her mother that it was unlikely to work, and that she probably only had weeks to live. They didn’t think she had heard, let alone understood, the conversation. Strangely, she wasn’t frightened of dying, but she was upset to be leaving her mommy. She knew that her mommy would be sad when she died, and she didn’t like to think of that.

I felt Jeevan’s hand on my shoulder.

“I know, bhaiya,” he said quietly, “but you and I are going to save her. Don’t cry for her; she is not yet lost.”